Kevin Duffy: Old-school Holowaty victim of new era

Updated 12:06 am, Sunday, April 28, 2013

At least that's how one of his former players put it. Because the present day is presumably nothing like it was 45 years ago, when Bill Holowaty began his coaching career at Eastern Connecticut State.

It ended Friday, when Holowaty, 68, informed the Eastern baseball team of his retirement. It ended because of an investigation into "abusive language." It ended unfortunately.

The details: As reported by The Hartford Courant, which obtained a letter from the administration to Holowaty, the coach was suspended three weeks for five charges. The first four -- failure to comply with directives, failure to follow financial procedures, failure to comply with an agreement pertaining to documentation of department funds, and throwing a helmet into the bleachers -- were "substantiated and affirmed." The fifth, considered the most serious, was alleged public cursing and abusive language.

The fifth charge was under investigation. If cleared of that charge, he'd be cleared to return to the dugout.

But Holowaty retired Friday, putting to rest one of the most successful coaching tenures in the history of college athletics. He won 1,404 games, four national championships and four national coach of the year awards.

He leaves under one hell of a controversy.

"The athletic department had been on his ass all season," one Eastern source said. "I don't know whether it's because they want someone new to come in or they want to change the mentality of the program. The (athletic director) has been kind of down our throats looking for something to be wrong."

But was there? I don't definitively know the extent of the "abusive language." I do know, however, that coaches swear. People swear. I know that Holowaty was suspended twice in the 1990s for allegedly kicking a player and allegedly hitting a player. I also know that the former players I interviewed -- all of whom played in the 2000s -- said they'd seen nothing like that.

"Anybody who knows Bill knows that he doesn't have to do anything besides stand there to intimidate you," said Sam Iverson, who pitched at Eastern from 2003-07. "The man is the size of a bear. As far as pushing and shoving and things, like that, no. Never."

Tom Koch, a star shortstop at Eastern from 2001-05, said he "did not witness anything like that." Another former player, under the request of anonymity, said Holowaty would "get in your face and swear."

"He did it to me a few times -- get like inches from my face screaming and yelling," the player said. "That's the worst I've ever seen."

This player transferred out of Holowaty's program. He added that during his time at Eastern, several other players dropped out or quit because they "couldn't handle" Holowaty's intensity.

"A few times, I think he didn't really handle some guys the correct way in terms of things he would say to them," the player said. "Everyone responds differently to that kind of behavior."

But that kind of behavior, he specified, wasn't "abusive." It was tough. And that's where things get gray. There's a line between "abusive" and "tough," and sometimes it's difficult to separate the two. Those who cross -- like former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice -- deserve to be fired.

When asked how Holowaty's behavior compared with Rice's, Koch said it "was not even in the same conversation." He called the Rice video "absolutely disturbing," and said he would have immediately left the team if he played for Rice.

Holowaty's language, according to multiple sources, wasn't laced with racial and sexual slurs. Holowaty's language consisted of "normal swears," the stuff you'd hear from any coach or at any office in America.

His former players paint the portrait of a man hell-bent on success, a man who deeply cared about his athletes and a man with a fiery reputation. They all agreed: When you committed to Eastern, you knew what you were getting into.

"Throughout his career, he's been the same guy. If anything, he's softened," said one Eastern source. "The world is changing around coaching."

It seems a select few players -- and parents -- would rather be coached by Danny Tanner from the TV show "Full House" than someone who screams and curses. That's probably always been the case. Some kids want to be pampered. The problem is, today, administrations have become ultra-sensitive to anything that could be construed as "crossing the line," even if the majority deems it normal coach behavior. After all, no one wants to have the next Rutgers scandal on their hands.

That fear could be the cause for overreaction. Again: Coaches swear. All of them. If you don't like it, you have the right to transfer (to a coach who swears slightly less frequently and who doesn't yell quite as loud). Understandably, some kids left Eastern, because no coach is the right fit for every single person. But judging by the outpouring of support, the common belief among former players that Holowaty pushed -- not abused -- his kids, it's exceedingly clear that he was the right fit for so many.

"If you're not (firm with players), you're not going to be coaching for very long," Koch said. "You have college-aged kids who all need direction, and the coach is there to give you direction. The direction (Holowaty) gave us was to be a good person, to be positive and to go out and play hard and compete every single day."

In the Hartford Courant's story Saturday, Holowaty defended himself by saying, "Did I swear? Yes. Have I challenged kids? Yes. Have I abused kids? No."

Based on the evidence I've seen -- which certainly isn't everything -- it appears the Eastern administration hasn't separated "challenge" from "abuse." How else could Holowaty have lasted 45 years? If his behavior was so appalling, wouldn't have someone called for his firing decades ago? Why, today, is he receiving so much support?

"If you're not around (Holowaty) all the time, he looks like a lunatic," an Eastern source said. "But if you spend every day with him, you know what he's about. He's not trying to hurt anyone. He's trying to make us better and help the players compete for a national championship."

He won four of them. He won more games than any coach -- regardless of sport -- in New England history. He won raving endorsements from his alumni.

Yet he was essentially shown the door, the victim of a new era marked by extreme sensitivity.